Susan S. Craighead is a commercial real estate and finance attorney, but when a young clerk at the convenience store around the corner from her Southboro law office was critically injured in an accident this summer, she found herself working in a different specialty — immigration and foreign relations.

Loka Nabil Wahba — “Luke” to those who knew him — was left in a coma in August after the car he was driving flipped over several times, ejecting him onto Route 9 in Westboro. Mr. Wahba, 22, from Egypt, was in this country on a green card.

The only family he had locally was his cousin David Ghoprial. When Mr. Wahba left Egypt four years ago, he left behind his mother, father and brother. When the family heard of Mr. Wahba’s grave condition, they knew they had to be by his side, but unrest in the Mideast prevented them from making the journey.

And then one day after the accident, Mr. Ghoprial received a phone call from a stranger — Ms. Craighead, offering to help him navigate the immigration process to bring his cousin’s family to the United States.

After filing complex immigration forms, encountering roadblocks in obtaining payment for the application, and necessary documentation for the visa, Youssef Wahba — Loka Wahba’s older brother — was finally able to come to America — two months after his brother was injured. He was able to be with him Nov. 13 when he was taken off a ventilator and died.

“It was just the right thing to do,” Ms. Craighead said of why she took on the arduous task.

“This was such a very big thing she did for us,” Mr. Ghoprial said. “She has got a good heart and is a very good person.”

Mr. Ghoprial is living the American Dream — he came to this country nine years ago, and now owns Vernon Pizza on Vernon Street in Worcester. His cousin, Loka Wahba, had similar hopes for a better life in America, and followed him here four years ago.

After being chosen by lottery to receive a green card he settled in Framingham. Mr. Wahba had been working at a convenience store in Southboro to save money to send himself to college, Mr. Ghoprial said.

Mr. Wahba never got a chance to start his education, but what he did do was form a network of loyal friends both inside and outside the Coptic Christian Community in Central Massachusetts and the MetroWest area.

“He was a good kid. He had a good heart,” Mr. Ghoprial said. “I am still surprised at the people who came — most of them friends — to his funeral.”

Among those friends was Ms. Craighead.

One day in late August she went into the store around the corner from her law office in Southboro and noticed that the clerk she knew as “Luke” was not there. She was told by the store owner that Luke had been in an accident and was on a ventilator and in a coma. She learned that the only family he had here was a cousin, and that his Coptic Christian faith was a big part of his life.

She thought sadly of the sweet and shy young man with whom she would often joke, grinning, looking at her sideways under what she remembered as phenomenal eyelashes.

She would return to the store, frequently asking about Luke’s condition; meanwhile, in Worcester, Mr. Ghoprial was visiting his cousin daily in the hospital.

In mid-September, Ms. Craighead entered the store to find the owner and a few other Egyptian men very upset. She learned that Luke’s friends and his church had been trying to make arrangements for his brother, Youssef, to leave Egypt to be with him, but Youssef had been denied a visa.

Mr. Ghoprial said he was not expecting his cousin to be denied a visa, especially after submitting the medical paperwork that said Mr. Wahba’s condition was very grave.

“What the embassy looked at was not his condition,” Ms. Craighead said. “They looked at a 25-year-old man leaving an area of unrest — especially being a Coptic Christian — they potentially might not want to go back and there was nothing keeping him there (in Egypt).”

“I know what its like to get a phone call and be told that your brother is on a ventilator thousands of miles a way,” Ms. Craighead said of her decision to work on Mr. Wahba’s behalf. “Fortunately, my brother had a different outcome.”

Ms. Craighead was somewhat familiar with the immigration process, having helped a friend once, and knew it would be difficult. She offered to help and started to gather information.

“For the first time I learned that Luke’s real name was Loka Wahba and that he had a cousin here, and a brother, mother, and father in Egypt,” Ms. Craighead said.

She reached out to friends on Facebook, contacted well-connected old friends and U.S. Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and Scott Brown, R-Mass.; and U.S. Reps. Ed Markey, D-Malden, and James P. McGovern, D-Worcester.

Ms. Craighead and Mr. Ghoprial applied for a humanitarian parole for Youssef — an option , according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that is used sparingly for someone who is otherwise inadmissible to the United States and lets them come or a short period of time for a compelling emergency.

After the overcoming of many obstacles, the application was submitted Sept. 22, Loka Wahba’s 22nd birthday.

Youssef Wahba finally arrived in New York City on Oct. 28, just ahead of Hurricane Sandy, and was delayed a few days in traveling further by the storm. Meanwhile, Ms. Craighead had to work to prevent the hospital from disconnecting Loka Wahba’s life support before his brother arrived.

Youssef Wahba is only allowed to stay for as long as it takes to settle his brother’s affairs.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wahba’s parents remain in Egypt.

“They are very sad, they are very upset, but they have a very strong religion,” Mr. Ghoprial said.